Age of Exploration

■Essential Question:
–What factors encouraged the
European Age of Exploration?
■Warm-Up:
–Have a seat! We will go over your
assignment from yesterday as your
warm up.
– Make sure you have something to
write with!!!
From the 1400s to the 1700s, Europe experienced
an “Age of Exploration”
The Renaissance encouraged
curiosity & a desire for trade
Motivations:
Why did Europeans want to explore?
As a result of exploration, European
nations grew powerful & spread their
influence throughout the world
Gold (Money)
lookingoffor
quick,was
direct
AMerchants
desire for began
new sources
wealth
the
trade
to avoidexploration
Muslim &
main routes
reasonto
forAsia
European
Italian merchants & increase profits
The Crusades & Renaissance
stimulated European desires
for exotic Asian luxury goods
Glory
Kings
sponsored
voyages
of exploration
Thewho
Renaissance
inspired
new
possibilities
gained overseas
colonies,
new sources of
for power
& prestige
wealth for their nation, & increased power
Exploration presented Europeans
the opportunity to rise from poverty
and gain fame, fortune, & status
God
European Christians, especially Catholics,
wanted to stop the spread of Islam &
convert non-Christians to the faith
Explorers were encouraged to
spread Christianity or bring
missionaries who would focus
only on conversions
Means:
The
Age
of
Exploration
How were explorers able to sail
so far & make it back again?
Before the Renaissance, sailors did not have the
technology to sail very far from Europe & return
Navigation
Trade & cultural diffusion during the Renaissance
introduced new navigation techniques to Europeans
Astrolabe
used stars
were more accurate
Magnetic compass
made Maps
to show
and
direction
used longitude & latitude
sailing more accurate
European shipbuilders built a better ship;
The caravel was a strong ship that could travel
in the open seas & in shallow water
Caravels had
triangular lateen
sails that allowed
ships to sail
against the wind
A moveable
rudder made
Cannons & rifles
the caravel more
gave ships protection maneuverable
Who were
theAge
explorers,
where did they go,
The
of Exploration
& how did they change world history?
Europeans were not the first to explore
the oceans in search of new trade routes
Islamic merchants explored the Indian Ocean
& had dominated the Asian spice trade for
centuries before European exploration
Early Exploration
From 1405 to 1433, Zheng He led
the Chinese treasure fleet on
7 expeditions to SE Asia, India, &
Africa during the Ming Dynasty
But in the late 1400s, the European sailors did
what neither Muslim nor Chinese explorers could:
Begin global (not regional) exploration &
create colonies to increase their wealth & power
In Portugal, Prince Henry the
Navigator started a school of
navigation to train sailors
He brought in Europe’s
best map-makers, shipbuilders, & sailing
instructors
He wanted to
discover new
territories,
find a quick
trade route to
Asia, & expand
Portugal’s
power
Portugal was the
early leader in the
Age of Exploration
Prince Henry’s navigation school &
willingness to fund voyages led the
Portuguese to be the 1st to explore the west
coast of Africa
Vasco da Gama was
the 1st explorer to
find a direct trade
route to Asia by
going around Africa
to get to India
Portugal gained a
sea route to Asia
that brought them
great wealth
During the Age of
Exploration, Portugal
created colonies along the
African coast, in Brazil, &
the Spice Islands in Asia
The Spanish government
saw Portugal’s wealth &
did not want to be left out
More than any other
European monarch,
Ferdinand & Isabella
of Spain sponsored &
supported overseas
expeditions
Like most educated men of Columbus reached the
the Renaissance, Columbus Bahamas in America
believed the world was
but thought that he
round & thought he could had reached islands off
reach Asia by sailing west
the coast of India
He made 4 trips to
“India” never
knowing he was in
Despite the fact that
Magellan became the
Columbus never found
first explorer to
Asia, Ferdinand Magellan circumnavigate the Earth
still thought he could
(go all the way around)
reach Asia by sailing West
During the
Age of Exploration,
Spain created colonies in
North & South America
Spain sent explorers called conquistadors
to the New World to find gold, claim land,
& spread Christianity
Cortez
conquered
the Aztecs
Pizarro
conquered
Thethe
influx
Incaof gold from
America made Spain the
most powerful country
in Europe during the
early years of the
Age of Exploration
England, France, & the Netherlands became involved
in overseas exploration & colonization as well
After failing to do so,
Champlain founded the
French colony of Quebec
The
French
explorer
Samuel
de
Champlain
Thesearched
French would
soon
carve
out
a
large
colony
along
Canada
for
a
northwest
passage
to
Asia
the Mississippi River from Canada to New Orleans
Unlike other
European nations
whose kings paid
for colonies, the
English colonies
were paid for
by citizens who
formed jointstock companies
English colonies
formed along the
Atlantic Coast of
North America by
colonists motivated
either by religion
or wealth
The English explorer James Cook was
the first European to make contact with
Australia, New Zealand, & Hawaii
Like England, the
The Dutch had colonies in
Netherlands (the Dutch) America & Africa, but the
allowed private companies Dutch East India Company
to fund exploration
dominated trade in Asia
Conclusions
As a result of the Age of Exploration, European
knowledge & influence of the world increased greatly